Evolve > Mindfulness >How Meditation Helps Improve Focus
The importance of focus
Focus is important for any task or activity. Be it sports, acting, everyday work or even studying, you need to focus to be productive. By settling your thoughts, you sharpen your mind and achieve more everyday.
Distractions and meditation for focus
Often, there are times when you may be unable to focus or feel distracted. This could be due to internal distractions such as your thoughts, a headache or external factors such as your cell phone or people around you. It’s important to be able to overcome these distractions, settle your thoughts and enjoy increased focus in order to achieve more. Refer to our checklist to assess your focus.
Meditation is a great way to improve your focus and concentration. You may be distracted or unable to focus for a variety of reasons, but meditation can help restore your focus. Focus meditation can be practiced anywhere, anytime and it has a range of benefits.
How meditation helps focus
Declutter your mind. Usually, our minds are cluttered with several thoughts and there’s often a lot to process. Meditation helps slow down your thought process so that you can focus on one thought at a time. With meditation, you stay in the present moment and allow yourself to be. You take a break from inner distractions and feel calm within the chaos. This allows you to find mental clarity, calm your mind and declutter your mind. As a result, you’ll be able to concentrate and perform better on the task in front of you.
Respond better to distractions. Many times, you step away from work because of a phone call or take a break, and then you’re unable to concentrate on work after you’re back. By meditating, you learn the skill of responding better to distraction, setting thoughts and processing one thought at a time for better concentration. The external distractions such as your cell phone or people around you may be leaving you unable to focus. However, meditation for focus allows you to to put them aside and bring your attention to the present.
Focus meditation trains you to bring your focus back to the present every time your mind begins to wander. This is a skill you can take into the real world and respond wisely to distractions.
Visualise success and improve determination. Certain meditation techniques help you visualise outcomes and channel your energy to achieving them. For important tasks such as a job interview, an exam or board meeting – this type of focus meditation helps you visualise success and improve your determination. As a result, your mind and body receive a boost that can enhance your performance.
Improve attention span.
When you meditate, you train your mind to focus on a particular objective for a decided period of time. It could be your breath or an object like a balloon. By focusing and paying attention to it while you meditate, your attention stays in one place. The more you meditate, the more your attention span improves. An improved attention span is critical for focus, concentration and to work well under pressure. Focus meditation will help.
Reduce stress and anxiety. Often, you’re unable to focus on work because you feel stressed or anxious. Fear, tension and anxious thoughts are key obstacles for good focus. Your thoughts and experiences take up space in your mind and are an unnecessary burden. With meditation, you are able to reduce anxiety and stress, becoming mentally calmer. As a result, you have a stable state of mind. This allows you to focus on your work and perform better to achieve more.
Meditation for focus is useful in helping you achieve more and maintaining balance when in the middle of work. With practice and time, you will improve at meditation and respond better to distractions while clearing your mind to achieve more. Here’s how you can practice meditation for focus with ease!
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With over 300 articles published on Evolve. Jash is one of the most viewed writers on topics such as Sleep, Mindfulness and Stress. Drop a mail at Jash@evolveinc.in to connect with him.